A Lesson in Flying
by CyleFlynt
Summary: HHerm. Hermione finally decides to tackle broomstick flying as one of her witchly talents. Slightly OOC but then, she's trying to fly. o.O


**Summary: H/Herm. Hermione finally decides to tackle broomstick flying as one of her witchly talents. Slightly OOC but then, she's trying to fly. o.O**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to 6HP books or 4 terrible HP movies. Thank GOD I don't own the rights to those wretched movies. I would have never allowed them to be released if I did.**

**A Lesson in Flying**

_**Cyle Flynt**_

Hermione stood upon a quiet, empty quidditch field. The sky rolled dark clouds above her and the wind ruffled her originally tamed hair. An old broom lay at her feet and she stared blankly at the ground in front of her.

_I should never have come…he'll never come. _She sighed in worry. _I must have sounded ridiculous! _

Suddenly two familiar arms wrapped around her, their hands covering her eyes. "Guess who!" The familiar voice teased, causing a grin to grace her features.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, turning around to hug him. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming!"

"I just got a little sidetracked." Harry admitted. "Someone turned the boy's bathroom into a jungle on the second floor, one of the weasley's latest prank kits no doubt."

"Well, I'm just glad you made it." She said, releasing him from her hug and turning around to face the empty field once more. "Weather couldn't have been worse…"

"Pfft…" Harry began to boast, "I've flown in worst…"

_But I haven't…_

"So," Harry started, glancing cheerfully at Hermione. "Why do you want to learn flying so badly?" His grin was pronounced as he bent over to place his own broomstick upon the soft grass.

Hermione sighed again and gazed dismally at the ground. "I can brew any potion," she said sadly. "charm any object, transfigure anything I want to…" Harry now concerned at her sudden change in demeanor reached over to place a few soft fingers on her cheek, beckoning her to face him instead. She stopped mid-sentence, and sharply inhaled. Turning her face towards him, she finished, her voice cracking, "yet I am still the only witch on this earth that can't fly!" Tears began to leak from her brown eyes and an unmistakable shame crossed her face.

_I do not want to cry! Not here, not now!_

"Hermione," Harry said shakily, "Not being able to fly is nothing to be ashamed of or nothing to be looked down upon."

_But I look down upon myself for it._

Shaking her head defiantly, Hermione set her eyes and forced the tears to stop. "I want to do this. Please help me Harry."

He nodded at her and wrapped her in a hug. "Only if you promise not to cry, regardless of the outcome."

She swallowed a moment and nodded, her chin gently touching his shoulder.

Releasing her from his grip, he looked her straight in the eye and began the lesson. "First off, let's just get the broom to your hand. Now…" She stood at the same spot, her eyes attempting to trail his body as he moved behind her. Reaching from behind, he gently held her arm in place, adjusting her posture slightly and straightening out her wrist. "It's not really as easy as our first teacher made it out to be. For a natural it is, but we all know…." He continued to walk around her, examining her posture.

_This is why he did such a good job with the DA… _She gazed at him admirably, before setting her thoughts back to the task at hand. _Okay, keep wrist straight, back straight. Keep listening._

"…that not everyone can be a natural at anything. Now, erase all the doubt that clouds your mind and say "Up!"" He was standing next to his own broom as he finished his speech and it snapped up to meet his outstretched palm. Looking over to Hermione again, he nodded for her to try.

_I don't know if I can... _She took a few breaths to calm her nerves and tried to calm the storm within her mind. "Up!" She barked, but to no avail. The broom softly rolled against the grass, barely responding to her command. She grimaced and bit her lip.

"Try again." Harry commanded, standing in front of her again, watching her form.

"Up!" she barked again, not even seeing the broom move at all this time. _It's official. I'm hopeless!_ She averted her eyes from his gaze, not wanting him to see the self-doubt that plagued her mind. _This is pointless. I'll never be good enough to measure up._

Harry walked slowly over to Hermione, contemplating the next turn of the lesson. "Let's sit down for a moment." He said lightly, patting her shoulder with an outstretched palm. She fell to a sitting position, depressed and staring blankly once again at the ground in front of her.

_Why is this so hard?_

Harry sighed softly at her, and sat before her Indian-style. "What's wrong?" he inquired softly. Receiving a gentle silence from her, he beckoned, "Tell me! I can't help you if you won't open up." He crossed his arms and stared sternly at her, a light smile playing upon his lips.

"I'm just not meant to do it, am I?" she began, depression at the failure echoing in her voice. "I tried, but it's so hard. There aren't any real words for this magic and…how will I know what I did right, if I ever do it right?"

"With that attitude, you won't ever get it right to begin with." Harry gently prodded. "Let me tell you something then before we try again."

_It gets more complicated?_

"Flying is a feeling, a sensation really… It's magic yes, but sometimes it feels like a different kind of magic. I don't really know how to describe it…but I know the word "up" really isn't what's bringing the broom to my hand every day." He reached over and patted her on the shoulder again. "Concentrate more on that feeling rather than the actual mechanics of the word." He stood up and offered his hand to her.

_A feeling? _Her mind echoed. _I don't know why he's bothering with me…_

She took his hand and slowly lifted herself off the ground again. Assuming the position, she took another few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Clear all the doubt from your mind. Think of it as faith…" Harry stumbled upon the words, "yeah, faith. Believe it and dispel the doubt."

_Easy for you to say. You never even had a problem on the first day!_

Finally clearing her mind of all thoughts, she tried once more. "Up!" The broom slowly rose in the air. It did not snap into place, nor did stay motionless, but rather hovered in midair, a foot below her palm. Her mouth fell agape and the broomstick fell back to the grass.

_I almost did it! I actually almost did it!_

"You're getting there!" Harry announced cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear. "Try it again."

"Up!" This time, the broomstick snapped straight to her outstretched hand. A wide smile graced her face as she gripped the floating broom with her right hand.

"Step one is complete." Harry said, calling his own broom up again. He walked over and stood next to her, turning his face to gaze upon her. A strange look crossed his eyes, but as quickly as it had arrived, it dispelled itself again. "Are you ready to actually fly?"

_Ready? It's what I've been trying to get to all day!_

Harry chuckled at the vigorous nod he had received in return and asked, "Do you remember what Madam Hooch said about mounting?"

A now giddy Hermione shook her head truthfully and gripped her broom tighter. Leaving his own broom hovering in midair, Harry walked over to assist Hermione with her form.

"Now, you don't want to sit too far back or…" He began, pointing out various points on her broom.

_Wow…he really does make a good teacher. _She thought admirably, catching herself gazing at his grinning face. _He's not even noticing me._

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she looked down at her broom. "…and of course if you sit too far up you won't be able to lean properly…you'd probably spend most of your time nose-diving actually…" He pointed to another spot on her broom. "I'd say you should put your hands here at first…or maybe…" He stepped back to stare at her, and the broom once more before continuing. "Actually, you're shorter than I am so…"

His dark brown hair moved lightly in the wind and Hermione glanced up to avoid blushing at him. She found the rolling clouds had not improved. _If only I had the guts to say it… _She thought gingerly to herself, a bittersweet moment crossing through her mind. She looked back to him and found him a lot closer than when she had first glanced overhead.

"Okay, I want you to just go ahead and sit comfortably," Harry said, gently supporting her by her elbow. "We'll just work out your positioning while hovering."

Hermione gently sat down upon her broomstick, and a sickening jolt of fear and uncertainty passed through her. _What if I screw up now? _The broom continued to hover, but Harry stopped a moment, sensing the fear emanating from her tensed arms.

"Don't be afraid, Hermione. When you're going on your first lap, I'll be right next to you, the entire way." He smiled gently at her.

_You always know the right words to say._

Harry soon began to chuckle nervously. Chancing a peek back at him, she waited a moment, before prodding him for an explanation. "I, umm…Well, I just want to say now that I'm _NOT_ feeling you up." He buried his face in his hands and tried to stifle the remaining laughs as Hermione burst out into a fit of giggles.

_Not that I'd be complaining, but thanks for the warning anyways! "_Haha!" She began, in between giggles, "Comes with the territory I suppose." She managed to stop laughing for a moment, before bursting out again. "You're not being shy are you?" _There! I did it! One flirty comment!_

Harry's ears perked up, and he stifled his own set of laughter long enough to reply, "Is that an invitation?" A distinct reddish tinge rushed to his cheeks as he realized that he actually said that out-loud.

Hermione gasped and looked at him with a mischievous grin lacing her face. _I can't believe he said that!_ "You'll never know until you try…" she tempted him, completely unsure of his reaction.

Harry leaned over to her face and replied, "We will have to continue this at a later time. We're going to be rained on if we stand here too long." A mischievous twinkle danced in his green eyes, and he slowly turned his head and coughed, attempting to become the professional tutor once more.

_Then I most certainly will Harry._

She nodded at him and simply stated, "what ever you need to do _professor…_" unable to prevent her lips from beaming.

"Right…" Harry stammered, slowly reaching out for her left thigh. "o-okay, for a ugh, a good, umm, liftoff…." He gently pulled her leg a couple of inches further up with a trembling hand. "You'll need th-this one here and…" She slowly gazed contently at him as he circled around her to the other side. "…and ugh, this one right here…" He pushed her right leg back about an inch, slightly upsetting her balance. Her hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder for support.

Laughing nervously as her heart raced, she mustered, "Ah, sorry. My umm, balance!" _Okay, I really don't want to knock both of us down!_

Harry chuckled a bit less nervously, and grabbed onto her arm, helping her with her balance. "Just straighten your back off like this…" he pushed down slightly on her back and flashed her an understanding smile, lined with pure delight. "…and bend your knees….just like that!" Stepping back, he slowly traced his fingers down her arm to her own delicate fingertips, and then stepped forward to wrap them around the broom.

She had perfect form on the broomstick. _Dang these nerves!_ Her heart fluttered about as and she listened to him say, "memorize how this feels."

He stepped back and took a final look at her, before situating himself on his own broom. He glided over to her slowly, and positioned himself parallel to her. "Are you ready?" He asked fondly, his green eyes sparkling as thunder clapped somewhere in the distance.

Swallowing down any remaining doubt, she fixed her eyes on the end of the field and nodded. "Then do exactly as I say." Harry reminded gently. "Okay, let's go over stopping first. Just sitting straight up will stop you, hence the reason neither of us are moving at the moment." He received an exasperated snort from Hermione but continued anyways. "The further forward you lean, the faster you'll go…"

Hermione gazed dreamily at Harry. Here he was, talking about the one subject that he had natural talent for, and he was never more appealing in her eyes. True, this enthusiasm and natural talent had shone through several times, as had his determination. All admirable traits, and yet she knew it was his kindness and respect for her that had truly won her over. _I don't know how he's done it, but he did it. _He treated her as an equal and a partner. She again had to pause her thoughts in order to pay attention to his words.

"I find that when turning, you can actually do it faster by twisting your waist, like so…" He shot ahead of her and immediately started spinning in midair. She smiled at his antics, knowing now he was showing off for the sake of impressing her. A short applause brought him back to her side. "Now remember, pull up, you'll go up. Push down, you'll go down. Are you ready for your first flight?"

He stared into her dark brown eyes. "I'm ready as long as you'll be right next to me." She affirmed, slowing down her heartbeat and smiling back at him.

"Of course," he agreed. "I'd never let you go it alone."

_Good, because this field is looking longer every second…_

Hermione lightly kicked off the ground felt herself rising into the air. She gripped the broomstick and tensed, before feeling Harry's presence rising slowly beside her. Within another moment, she had gotten her wits about her and they slowly glided across the quidditch field.

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A/Ns: I honestly intended this to be a one-shot fic, but if anyone really wants a pointless continuation, I guess I could take requests… Hope you all enjoyed it! I usually don't write Harry Potter fics, but I just love this coupling…

I have also taken to writing this story in an attempt to overcome a writing block. Thankfully it worked!


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